Pouring device



Jan. 22, 1963 G. F. HAWKSFORD 3,074,444

POURING DEVICE Filed April 26. 1960 United States Patent Ofiice 3,874,444 Patented Jan. 22, 1963 3,074,444 PGURING DEVICE George Frederick Hawkstord, 67 Chalmers Road, Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia Filed Apr. 26, 1960, Ser. No. 24,780 Claims priority, application Australia Apr. 28, 1959 1 Claim. (Cl. 141-353) The present invention relates to a pouring device which is intended for use with tins, cans, bottles and other com tainers for liquids.

Difiiculty is often experienced in pouring liquid, for example, gasoline from a can or other container without spilling some of the gasoline during the process. An object of the present invention is to provide a pouring device which may be attached to the opening of a container so as to form a closure for the container, while enabling liquid to be poured from it in such a manner as to minimise the risk of spilling.

The invention consists in a pouring device including a cap adapted to be attached to the pouring aperture of a container, an inner tube attached to and projecting from said cap, a valve seating in the end of the said first tube adjacent the cap, an outer tube arranged around and slidable on said inner tube, an external lateral projection on said outer tube, a valve member arranged to seat on said seating to close the bore of said inner tube, a connection between the end of the outer tube remote from said cap and said valve member such that by a sliding movmeent of said outer tube on the inner tube the valve member may be moved off and to said seating and spring means acting to hold the valve member against the seating.

In order that the invention may be better understood and put into practice a preferred form thereof is hereinafter described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG 1 is an exploded view of a pouring device according to the invention showing the separate parts of the device,

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device in its assembled condition,

FIG. 3 shows in perspective a portion of the spout of the device and illustrates the manner in which the valve is sealed, and

FIG. 4 illustrates the manner in which the device may be used.

In the preferred form the pouring device consists of a screw cap 10 adapted for attachment to the pouring aperture of, for example, a one gallon gasoline can, the cap being internally threaded at 11 and having within it a sealing washer 12 of cork or other material. Projections 13 are provided round the cap to enable it to be gripped and turned more easily. In the centre of the upper surface of the cap 10 and projecting outwardly from it is an inner tube 14 approximately 2 /2 inches long and /s in. internal diameter. At the end of the tube remote from the cap a longitudinally extending slot 15 is formed, the slot being approximately a quarter of an inch wide and three quarters of an inch long. Around the tube there is arranged an outer tube 16 which is approximately 1% ins. long and which is slidable on the surface of the inner tube 14.

Formed integrally with the end of the outer tube 16 adjacent the upper surface of the cap 10 is a lateral projection in the form of an annular outwardly extending flange 17, there being a coil spring 18 between the cap 10 and the flange 17 acting to urge the outer tube 16 away from the cap. At the remote end of the outer tube 16 there is formed a small tongue 21 of metal which is bent over at right angles so as to project radially within the inner tube 14 through the slot 15 formed in its wall. To the inner end of the tongue 21 is aflixed a rod in the form of a screw 22 which projects axially through the inner tube 14 and has screwed to its inner end a frusto-conical valve member 23 of which the outer surface is preferably of rubber or other resilient material. The valve member '23 is arranged to seat within the inner end 24 of the inner tube 14 and is arranged so that when the outer ends of the inner and outer tubes 14 and 16 are approximately level the valve member is seated closely within the inner end of the inner tube (as shown in FIG. 2), thus acting as a seal to prevent liquid passing from the interior of a container to which the pouring device is affixed into the inner tube, which constitutes the spout of the pouring device.

In use the pouring device is screwed tightly on to the pouring aperture of a gasoline can 25 (FIG. 4) and acts normally to form a closure to the can. When it is desired to transfer gasoline from the tin to, for example, the tank of a motor car 26, the can is inverted and the outer ends of the inner and outer tubes 14 and 16 are inserted within the filling orifice 27 of the tank. To do this it is necessary to invert the tin, but during the process of inversion no liquid can escape from it owing to the engagement of the valve member 23 with the inner end 24 of tube 14. If now the flange 17 on the outer tube is engaged with the edge of the filling orifice 27 of the tank and pressure is applied, the cap 10 of the pouring device will be forced towards the flange 17 on the outer tube, compressing the coil spring 18 and at the same time forcing the inner end 24 of the inner tube away from the valve member 23, thus allowing liquid to pass from the can into the tank through the inner tube. Liquid can flow freely from the can in this manner until the level of the liquid in the tank has risen to the end of the outer tube when the flow of liquid ceases owing to the fact that air is prevented from entering the can by the seal so formed.

It will be appreciated that with the arrangement described above the possibility of spilling any liquid in the pouring operation is very materially reduced. Once the tank has been filled the container may be removed and in removing it the coil spring 18 acts against the flange 17 on the outer tube to force it back to its original position thus closing the valve 23 in the cap and preventing the outflow of any further liquid from the container.

When the can is not in use the outer tube 16 may be rotated so as to bring the tongue 21 over the end of the inner tube 14 (as shown in FIG. 3) thus preventing longitudinal movement between the two tubes and in this way maintaining the valve 23 in the closed position. This effect may be enhanced by making the inner tube 14 project very slightly beyond the end of the outer tube 16 so that if the outer tube is turned relatively to the inner, the tongue is forced to ride up over one of the curved shoulders 28 of the slot 15 in the end of the inner tube, thus putting a slight extra pressure on the valve member and thus improving the sealing eflect of the valve.

The pressure of the valve member 23 against the end 24 of the inner tube in the closed position may be ad justed by adjusting the extent to which the valve member is screwed on to the screw 22 which adjusts its position axially relative to the seating.

A pouring device according to the invention may be made in metal or of plastic material according to the purpose for which it is intended. It may be of a size to suit any particular container and may be constructed of materials particularly suited to resist corrosion when pouring particular liquids.

It should be emphasised that the embodiment of the invention described above is given by way of example only, as being one form of construction coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the succeeding cla ms. Other forms of the invention will occur readily to those skilled in the art.

3 What I claim is: An arrangement for transferring a liquid from a liquidcontaining body to a liquid-receiving body, comprising, in combination, a tubular member having'a first and a sec- "actuatingsaid valve member comprising an elongated rod -coaxial;withsaid tubular member and a sleeve member eoaxial with said'tubular member having, an annular flange located externally of the valve member and 'a radial -projection connected withsaid annular flange, said radial projection receivable in'said slot and said elongatedrod being connected atone end with said radial projection and at the other 'end with said valve member; and a helical Espring coaxial with'said tubular member and located be-' tween said connecting means and said annular flange for biasing said radial projection in a direction to move'the same-from said slot-and -to simultaneously move the valve member into sealing engagement with said seat, said radial projection turnablewvith respect to said tubular member and the latter having an edge portion at said second end thereof, said edge portion adjacent said slot and engaging said radial projection upon withdrawal of the radial projection from said slot and upon rotation of the radial projection with respect to the tubular member, whereby the valve'member is locked in'sealing engagement with said seat, said annular flange engageable by the liquid-receiving body to move the radial projection into said slot against the action of said biasing means upon alignment of the radial projection with said slot and to thereby move the valvemember away from said seat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 525,744 Roth Sept. 11, 1894 1,224,808 Sundellet a1 May 1, 1917 2,197,352 Terkel Apr. 16,1940

12,822,832 Craw Feb. 11, 1958 

